WAUSAU - The Wausau Police Department is looking to outfit officers with body cameras starting in 2016 at a cost of $300,000 over five years.

The Wausau Finance Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to support the purchase. It includes cameras, training and data storage for the video footage recorded by the cameras.

"We aim for professionalism. And it's becoming a new standard in our profession," said Wausau Police Capt. Ben Bliven about the use of body cameras. Of the footage they capture, Bliven said, "I think it's just fantastic evidence."

The full City Council has yet to approve the five-year contract for the cameras, but officials already OK'd a 2016 expense of $100,000 for the new equipment. Bliven expects 51 officers in the department will have cameras by next March.

Municipalities across the nation have been considering the use of body cameras since recent shootings by police have spurred protests and calls for more accountability. That discussion kicked off after Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown in August 2014.

Bliven said the addition of the cameras will promote trust and transparency in Wausau between the department and the public.

Wausau's decision comes just a week after officials in the city of Madison decided that police officers there will not wear body cameras any time soon. Skeptics argue that body cameras on police are too expensive and raise privacy concerns, such as when an officer interviews victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.

No rush for body cameras in Portage County

Wausau Police officials compared two different camera companies and opted for a more expensive option, Taser, because it includes unlimited data storage and integration with Wausau's computer-aided dispatch system.

Officers in the department tried cameras this past summer from companies Taser and VIEVU. Taser will cost $300,000 for five years. And VIEVU would cost about $110,000 over three years, but with only 60 gigabytes, or roughly 60 hours, of storage included per officer. Each extra gigabyte with VIEVU would cost 12.5 cents.

“They’re going to run out of that storage very quickly,” Bliven said.

Federal grants are helping outfit dozens of police departments across the nation with cameras to better document the incidents that police witness or get involved in. Wausau did not receive any federal grants for its cameras.

The cameras are about the size of a box of cigarettes and clip to officers' shirts. The cameras will be rigged to turn on when an officer turns on the lights in his or her squad car.

“In an emergency situation we don’t want them having to think, OK let’s activate this camera,” Bliven said.

Nora G. Hertel can be reached at nora.hertel@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0665. Find her on Twitter as @nghertel.